Using the timer

Everything you need from night to night is in the main window, and most of it is also in the menu bar or system tray.

The main window during a 45-minute timer. The computer will go to sleep at 10:45 PM.

Choose how long

Pick one of the lengths along the middle of the window: 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes. For anything else, choose Custom and type a number of minutes into the Length box. A custom timer can be anywhere from 1 minute to 12 hours.

Nightcap remembers the length you used last, so most nights you can just press Start.

The length can't be changed once a timer is running. If you need more time, add 15 minutes, or cancel and start again.

Start, pause and cancel

Start: Begins the countdown. The ring empties as time passes, and the time under the countdown tells you when your computer will go to sleep.
Pause and Resume: Pause freezes the countdown. If the screen or volume has already started fading, it stays where it is until you resume.
Cancel: Stops the timer. If the screen or volume had started fading, Nightcap puts them back the way they were. You can turn that off in Settings.

Add more time

Not ready to sleep yet? Open the Nightcap menu in the menu bar or system tray and choose +15 Minutes. It works while the timer is running or paused, and you can use it as many times as you like.

Adding time never brightens the screen or turns the sound back up. They stay where they are, then carry on fading as the new end time gets close.

Choose what happens at the end

Use the When finished menu to pick what your computer does when the timer runs out. Nightcap remembers your choice.

Sleep: The best choice for most people. Your computer goes into its low-power sleep, the same as closing a laptop lid. Wake it and everything is right where you left it.
Hibernate: Saves what you had open and powers the computer off, so it uses no battery at all. It takes a little longer to wake up. This option only appears on computers that support it, which doesn't include Macs.
Shut Down: Turns the computer off completely. Save anything you're working on before you start the timer.

Nightcap puts a small moon icon in your menu bar on a Mac, or in the system tray next to the clock on Windows and Linux. On Windows, it may be tucked behind the small arrow beside the clock.

The Nightcap menu with no timer running (left) and during a timer (right).

Click the icon to:

Start a 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minute timer without opening the window.
See how long is left.
Pause, resume, add 15 minutes or cancel.
Open the main window, open Settings, or quit.

On a Mac, the time left also shows next to the moon in the menu bar. You can hide it in Settings.

Closing the window

Closing the main window doesn't stop the timer. Nightcap keeps running from the menu bar or tray. On a Mac it also leaves the Dock until you open the window again. Choose Open Nightcap from the menu to bring it back.

To stop Nightcap completely, choose Quit Nightcap. If the screen or volume had been turned down, quitting puts them back first, unless you've turned that off in Settings.